


No Strings

by ruffledparasols



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Teachers, Angst and Humor, F/M, Humor, Inappropriate Humor, POV Regina, Regal Believer, Sexy Times, Shameless Smut, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-09
Updated: 2015-07-05
Packaged: 2018-04-03 14:36:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4104463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ruffledparasols/pseuds/ruffledparasols
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a new teacher comes to Storybrooke Middle School and Regina's son Henry comes home with a low grade, she takes it into her own hands to have a talking with this new, hot-shot English teacher. However no one prepared her for how enticing he was, nor how piercingly blue his eyes were. A few drinks and one nasty hangover later, she might find out that shes getting more then she bargained for... And she might not have a problem with that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> dear reader, be forewarned, thar be smut here - if you're not cool with that, DO NOT READ FURTHER! if so, awesome! this story started off as a one shot (like most of my fics) that ended up becoming something more! i do hope you enjoy!

"Fuck! Robin!" I yelled, gasping as I felt him bite down on my neck.

His dark chuckle vibrated across my skin, sending shivers down my sides as I felt his toned muscles moving across me as he slid up my body.

His light stubble brushed my ear faintly and I felt my body tremble in anticipation. "What was that M'lady?" he said.

His voice was rich and smokey, as if he was made of pure lust and chocolate and it sent me into hysterics every time I heard it... Ever since I was a teenager I had had a thing for chocolate and older, attractive, British men - _thanks a lot Richard Armitage!_  And now, I had both! Would that be considered having my cake and eating it too? If so then I had no problem with that statement! Bring on the cake! Hell, bring on the whole bakery! _A British bakery that is_... I opened my mouth to respond to him but my words quickly stopped and turned into a breathy moan as I felt his large hands trailing across my waist and down between my thighs, finding the wetness there. I gasped as he let out a growl, resting them there, and I let out another strangled ' _Fuck_!'

He laughed, this time full out, his deep voice filling the small bed room with it's warm timbre.

"I do believe that's exactly what I am trying to do M'lady."

I wanted to nod a 'fucking finally, please and thank you, kind sir!' but I didn't seem able to get enough control over my muscles to do so. Apparently my body was having enough trouble performing it's most basic function, breathing, as I just ended up opening my eyes wide and gasping again - _but who could blame me?_  With him, I was surprised I still possessed the ability to convert oxygen into carbon dioxide without dying from hotness overload! He was gorgeous, his perfectly dirty blonde hair and ocean blue eyes could kill. Not to mention the accent. I shuddered thinking about it. He was like an expensive Cuban cigar; perfectly aged, refined, and utterly addicting. Not that I had ever smoked a cigar before, but I could imagine...

When I had first met him I thought I might have been experiencing premature hot flashes, but then I realized that it was just my bodies natural reaction to an extremely hot man in such a close proximity..  _all the way across the parking lot_.

It was September 3rd, the first day of class for Storybrooke Public Schools.

I had dropped Henry, my son, off at the front doors of Storybrooke Middle School that morning and now it was 2:24pm. I was parked just outside of the main entrance, three cars back from the front. Not so close so that I would get an earful of 'mom you're embarrassing me' from my son on the drive home, but not so far away that he couldn't see me when he came out.

My fingers were tapping mindlessly on the steering wheel as I waited for the school bell to ring, signalling that the day was over and Henry could be released so that I could spend the rest of my day off from being Mayor, talking with my son. I grabbed my coffee from the cup holder, removing the heat stopper and taking a long, deep sip of the warm liquid.

Instantly the caffeine hit me, following through my veins, making its way rapidly through my system. I felt my body beginning to warm up, which was nice considering the fact that it was horribly chilly outside. It was only September for crying out loud! But there was already frost in the corners of the windows of the old school and I could just make out little tendrils of ice trying to circle their way up my side mirrors.

I opened my glove box, finding my favorite pair of leather gloves inside just as the school bell rang. My heart fluttered excitedly. Slipping on the gloves, I re-grabbed my triple shot espresso, making my way out of the car.

The frigid air hit me like an arctic blast, immediately I wished I had remembered to grab my scarf from the back of my door before I had left home an hour before. Walking briskly, I crossed my arms in front of my body, clutching the hot mug as tightly in my hands as I could in the hopes that I could receive some of the heat it contained. I made my way over to the rest of the parents huddled together outside, waiting to collect their kids.

"Word on the street is he rides a Harley," One voice said.

"I heard he was apart of a gang in London. Something to do with Hood's and a town named Sherwood?" Another voice responded.

"I heard he has tattoo's!" A third exclaimed.

I made my way into the throng with raised brows, instantly recognizing a few of the familiar faces amongst the grouping of mostly mom's. There was Ruby Lucas and a very pregnant Belle Gold standing next to Mary Margaret Blanchard and her best friend, Emma Swan. It was only in the corner that I spotted Jefferson Hatter, standing timidly, no doubt praying for this conversation to be over as he waited to pick up his precious daughter Grace - which reminded me, I had to ask Henry how that was going... Apparently over the summer he had finally told Grace how he felt about her, and he had asked her to the movies, but she had turned him down, stating that she just viewed him as a friend. Initially I had wanted to ring that scrawny little girls pale neck but, _being the classy woman that I am,_  I refrained. I still didn't care much for her darling little school girl uniform and long blonde braids...

Removing my eyes from the coward of a man, I let them roam over the rest of the group. Each of the women in the circle I had known since Henry was in preschool. They had each lived in Storybrooke just about as long, if not longer, than I had. I had had their kids over at my house for Henry's birthday parties and I had been at there's for government holidays. We all got along well, each of us having completely different careers and life paths.

Emma was a cop, Mary Margaret a teacher. Ruby was a waitress, Belle was basically the town Librarian/closet genius and Jefferson... Well no one knew what exactly Jefferson did. He was some sort of photographer, it was rare to see him out without a camera or two strapped round his neck. Together, the group had only the freshest gossip from the streets like some glorified soccer mom collective, and they had no qualms when it came to sharing it! Today's topic seemed to be focused on some man.

"Yeah, basically some type of nomadic roustabout." Ruby said, shaking her head, making her long brown and red curls go flying, "All I know is I wouldn't want him teaching my kids English."

There was a collective 'mmhmm' and I decided it was my turn to butt in.

"Who is this we're talking about?" I asked to no one in particular.

"Regina!" came the voice of Mary Margaret, her cherubic face scrunching up, making her apple cheeks appear bright and shunshiny red. Behind her I heard a cordial 'Madame Mayor' from Officer Swan, and a few 'hello's' from the others as the pixie haired woman continued. "Didn't you hear about the new English teacher?"'

"There's a new English teacher?" I asked, "What happen to Mr. Hopper?"

"Went back to school to get a degree in Psychology." Belle filled in.

"Yeah, maybe now the cricket will actually learn what it means to mind his  _own_  business." Ruby added with a scoff.

I wasn't sure what exactly it was that Ruby had against the kind elder teacher but ever since I had known her she had always acted like he was a flea in her hair and spoke of him as if he were such.

"Oh," I said, taking in the new knowledge, "So there's a new teacher at SMS?"

"Yes, and have you heard the dirt on him yet?" Ruby asked, her hollow cheekbones suddenly taking a somewhat vulpine appearance as a wry smile twisted on her thin lips, exposing her pearly white canines.

"No, but I get the feeling that I'm about to."

Needless to say each of the women took their turns filling me in quickly on the murmurs about town on Storybrookes first new teacher in over 15 years. Apparently none of them had yet to see the man however, so, after weeding out the obviously made up facts and crude exaggerations about the new English teacher, all I had garnered was that his name was Robin Locksley, a Storybrooke native that had moved away after his father had died in his youth and had spent the majority of his life growing up in London with his mother. He had his degree in Education and a minor in History, and apparently he had a mysterious tattoo on his wrist and was currently living somewhere down in the shanty part of old East Mifflin street.

"That's close to you Regina, isn't in?" Mary Margaret piped up.

"What?" I asked, feeling my eyes being pulled back to the pixie haired woman and away from the schoolhouse doors.

"You still live on Mifflin street, don't you?" The blonde cop next to the Mary Margaret asked.

"Yes," I responded to Emma, hearing a high pitched squeak signalling that the heavy doors of Storybrooke middle school had finally been opened in the background. "East Mifflin's not too far from me."

At first there was only one small uniform clad adolescent making their way out of the metal doors and then, no more than a moment later, they were blasted opened as a rush of mitten clad middleschoolers poured out from the schoolhouse and pooled into the slick frost covered streets of the parking lot.

I scanned over the heads of multiple little brunette boys, trying to locate my own sons thick mane with no luck. I spotted the adorable tight curls of Neal Cassidy Blanchard, Mary Margaret's son, and the annoyingly perfect blonde braids of Grace Hatter with ease, but no Henry.

I huffed, feeling the frigid fall air making it's way down my body and underneath my sweater making me shiver. I pulled my coat tighter around my neck to cover the area where my skin was exposed to the elements, internally rolling my eyes.  _I really wish I had remembered to grab my scarf from the door._  My skin was so sensitive. It had always been, but lately even the slightest breeze could send me into a hypothermic-like state.

More kids continued to pour out and I found myself beginning to tap my foot impatiently as my angst to spot my son amongst the crowd grew.

Holding his daughter by the hand, Jefferson walked away from the small group silently, soon followed by Neal, Mary Margaret and Emma leaving only Belle, Ruby and I standing, shivering our butts off in the cold.

"Where's Henry?" Belle asked after a minute.

"I don't know." I responded, my eyes still scanning over the now sparse flow of middleschoolers. "He should be here?"

"Wait," I said again a second later, turning towards the two women next to me, "What are you two even doing here?"

It was common knowledge that the moment Belle had wed the infamous town broker, Robert Gold, three years ago she had had a bun cooking away in her oven every autumn since. Even though they had the beginnings of their own herd, what with three children and a forth on the way, none of their spawn were old enough to attend school just yet. Ruby, on the other hand, had been through every male in town and somehow had no offspring to show for it. She truly was a testament to good birth control. Word was that she and Victor Whale were currently a thing, but no one knew for sure as she was known for changing men just as quickly as a kid selected a new favorite flavor in an ice cream shop.

Neither of them had any nieces or nephews that attended Storybtooke Middle School, nor any family that lived in town - unless of course you counted Ruby's grandmother, Eugenia, the towns well-known late night diner owner - so there was no reason for them to be outside waiting out in front of the school.  _Unless_...

"Wait, are you two-"

"Waiting to get a glimpse of the new teacher? Yeah." Belle finished for me.

"Why?" I asked.

"Heard he's supposed to be really hot," Ruby finished, casting a somewhat predatory wink over her shoulder at me.

I raised a brow. "Belle you're married?" I reminded more then questioned.

"Doesn't mean I can't look," the Australian beauty responded with a nod towards her friend and they shared a laugh.

I rolled my eyes. Of course those two would come to a school, where they had no kids attending, and wait for twenty minutes, outside in the cold, just to get a glimpse of quite possibly the most juicy gossip that Storybrooke had seen in the last 15 years.

"I can't believe you two." I said, shaking my head, trying to hold back a snort, but failing.

Just then the doors to the schoolhouse opened again and I felt my heart leap as I saw my sons unruly mane bobbing up and down as he made his way out of the building.

"Henry!" I yelled before I could stop myself.

I watched as his eyes shot up, finding mine and he waved.

"Hey mom!" He yelled back, jogging the remaining distance between him and me and giving me a tight squeeze once he closed it.

"Belle, Ruby," he said, acknowledging the two women standing there and I felt a surge of motherly pride pulse through me at my little mans manners. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Waiting to catch a glimpse of your new Teach," Ruby responded, her large brown eyes not leaving the main doors.

Belle nodded, adding a polite "Hey Henry, how are you doing?" before going back to staring at the building, as if it was just going to open up, remove all the bricks and let them peer inside.

"You mean Mr. Locksley?" Henry asked, "He's already left."

"What?!" The two women shrieked in unison.

"Yeah, about 5 minutes ago. That's why I was late," he continued, now looking at me, "I stayed back to ask him a few questions about my low grade on my summer homework."

"Oh?" I said, looking down at my son. "And what did he say?"

"He said that my story idea was good, I just need to work a bit on my grammar."

I closed my eyes, biting down hard on my tongue in order to remind me to pause before I said something that I would regret about this 'so-called' new English teacher in front of my son.

Henry had worked tirelessly on his story for summer homework, staying up late most nights, trying to get another page done. Stories came easily for him, he could thank me for his big imagination as I had made sure to read to him every-night before bed as a child, but it was the writing part that he didn't quite grasp. When he had come into my room in the dead of night with tears swimming in his eyes, I had had just about enough of this project. I had taken the next couple of days off of work and had sat up all day and all night, helping him to flesh out his story and get the words that were mixing up in his head out and onto the paper.

It had taken about a solid three days of us mulling over his ideas, taking his plot apart piece by piece and running over his characters with a fine tooth comb, before we had anything substantial.

In the end it all came together swimingly. It was a great tale about knights and princesses, dragons and faeries. It took place in a mythical land called The Enchanted Forest and there was even a thief that fell in love with a queen somewhere in the end!

It had all the makings of being a bestseller if you asked me, but then there was this grammar issue...

I had taken a few courses in college on advanced writing and though I never pursued it as a major, I've always known that I have a gift when it comes to the written word. Mother always said that I would be a writer if it weren't for the fact that I loved politics so much.

She was probably right too since I seem to find myself writing out my thoughts into one of my many journals whenever life seems to be too much. After Daniel died, when Henry was born, loosing father, rerunning for Mayor. Basically whenever I experienced a major event that I didn't seem to have anyone to talk to about it.

But I shook my head, remembering where I was standing and just who exactly was squeezing my hand trying to get my attention.

"Mom...Mom..."

"Sorry," I said, refocusing on my son in front of me before making a mental note to have a talk with this new English teacher about the way he was handeling my precious kid.

"Can we go now? I'm kinda tired." He said, tugging lightly on my hands.

"Of course Henry," I replied, realizing that he was only holding on to me in order to get me to release my grip on the Starbucks cup inbetween my fingers. "Why don't you head along to the car, I'm just going to say good bye to Ms. Lucas and Mrs. Gold and then I'll meet you over there," I said, handing him my keys and watching him as he runs towards the vehicle, the rest of my coffee now in his hands.

_Sneaky,_  I thought to myself, with a somewhat impressed raise of my brow.

Turning back I rolled my shoulders, inhaling in deeply before opening my eyes and looking at the two women before me.

"Ladies," I said. Both Ruby and Belle snapped, as if they had been in a trance, and stared back at me, "I'm going to bid you adieu now. I trust that since both of your common interest in the schoolhouse has left, you'll both be on your way and I won't have to call Officer Swan over to have you arrested for loitering?"

"Nope! No problems here Madame Mayor, not really interested in hanging out with mangy little kids all day anyway," Ruby responded quickly.

"Hey!" Belle exclaimed from behind the svelte woman.

"Well besides yours," Ruby said back, tossing a smile to her friend from over her shoulder.

I chuckled under my breath, watching the two women as Ruby tried to laugh off her friends glare, and failed. "Have a good day ladies-" I began, but was cut off when an abrupt ' _BANG'_ shot out from behind me.

My heart jumped into my throat as my mind raced to Henry and I turned round quickly, spinning on the edge of my heel to spot my son sitting safely in my car, staring out of the window, and waving at someone adamantly with a smile on his face.

Following his gaze my eye trailed quickly across the parking lot, locking onto the backside of a man, clad in leather boots, dark jeans and currently throwing on a large black leather jacket over the top of what looked like the rest of a business uniform. Said man was turned just enough so that I could make out his rugged profile. He was smiling, waving back at my son, before throwing a helmet on and turning back, returning his hands to the motorcycle in which he was sitting atop of.

With a rev of the engine the motorcycle roared to life, and I swear the sound made the ground underneath my feet shake.

The man spun around quickly, turning the whole bike in one fluid movement beginning to take off.

I stared in awe as the biker made his way through the lot. It was only when he reached the gates where my car sat parked that he looked up, and for a moment I would swear that I saw his hand on the bike falter, for he turned his head and his eyes caught mine.

Blue. That was all I could see.

His eyes were as crystal clear as the ocean and I swear I felt like I was drowning under the intensity of his gaze.

But it was only for a second, because a second later he turned away. There was the sound of the engine roaring again and then he was gone.

And in that moment I realized just how truly lonely I had become because I had only caught a glimpse of a hot man in leather and I was completely turned on.

_Fuck_.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning, thar be smut here. enjoy!

**2**

Robin glanced at me with a smoldering look in his eye before moving down to the sensitive skin of my inner thigh.

"Here?" He said, nodding and the light stubble of his chin touched my skin as he took in a deep inhale through his nose.

I shivered, completely unable to respond as my body continued to tie itself up into knots as I waited anxiously in anticipation.

There was a moment when all I could feel was the stale air of the room around me before Robin's warm mouth was on my skin and I let out a slight gasp. His lips were warm and wet as they attacked my thigh, and I felt his tongue sneak out once, leaving a glistening trail as he nibble his way gently up the innermost part of my leg.

My heartbeat was beginning to sky rocket with every second and I could feel the inner muscles of my leg spasming from all the attention. Beads of sweat were beginning to roll down my body as Robin continued worshiping my sensitive skin and I had had just about enough of the build up. I didn't want anymore teasing. No more foreplay. I wanted his mouth on me,  _in_ me, making me scream. I wanted his body on top of mine, warm lips running down my neck as he thrust into me, making me cum. I wanted the release.

"Robin," I panted. Running my hands down into his long hair.

There was a muffled  _harumph_  as he continued to kiss my skin, his head bobbing up and down slightly as he sucked on a particularly tender spot.

I gasped, the sound quickly turning into a moan as he soothed the mark that he had no doubt left on the inside of my leg. He went back to kissing me and I lowered my hands, running them down the taught muscles of his back, digging the nails into his sweat slicked skin in order to stop him from distracting me again.

"Robin," I demanded again, this time more firmly.

Finally his head came up, his crystal blue eyes catching mine. They were clouded in a haze of lust and hunger as he stared at me, his desire apparent.

Suddenly my throat went dry, the words that I had been preparing to say to him dying on my tongue as my mouth dried out like it was the Sahara. There was something in the way he was looking at me that was making my body heat up like the insides of an Easy-Bake oven quicker then it had been when his mouth had been on my skin moments before. If I didn't know better I would have said there was something there, behind all the layers or lust and arousal. Something  _more_.

But I did know better. We had only met a few weeks ago, and there was no way that this...this..  _arrangement_  between us could have amounted to anything more then just raw desire in that amount of time. But then there was his eyes. The way their crystal blue was burning holes into my skin. His gaze did something to me and without thinking I ended up doing exactly opposite of what I had been intending to.

My hands reached down, gripping Robin by the back and pulling him up away from my aching sex, feeling the shock radiating through him just as much as it did me. His muscles slid over my sweat slick skin and I connected my lips to his when his mouth came in contact with mine.

"Let me," I whispered before I kissed him again.

It took him a minute to realize what was going on but when he did I felt his hands slide up my sides and wrap around my back, as his fingers reached for the clasp of my bra.

Realizing that he was trying to get the upper hand I shook him off, using his momentary surprise to nudge him and flip us over. Now that I was on top I let my fingers rank up his naked abdomen, my lips trailing down his neck. I could feel the vein that ran from his chest to his neck pulsing as I left hungry bites along his clavicle.

_He was hot,_ and not just in the physical sense,  _but_ _literally_. Every part of his body was on fire, burning me with every touch, but it was worth it. My lips trailed down his chest and across his torso and finally made it to the band of his jeans which is where I stopped when I heard his sharp intake of breath.

I looked up, finding his eyes to be screwed shut, vein pulsing in his neck. This was the first time I had ever seen him like this, his hands gripping the sheets of the bed, his body completely at my mercy. It was exhilarating.

I realized a breath, hearing him hiss as I did so against his bare skin so close to his straining member.

Slowly I dragged my hands up, reaching for the thick fabric, popping open the button that kept the jeans in place. Robins hands gripped tighter on the bed sheets, twisting them slightly when I finally got the jeans unbuttoned and started on his zipper.

I could see the tension in his body from a mile a way and it did nothing but spur me on.

Slowly I dragged the jeans down his sides, unveiling his boxer-briefs and, with an extra push, I freed him of his denim confines.

He took in a gasping breath. Apparently the build up was just as much torture to him as it was to me.

Choosing to let the torture endure just a bit more, I let my nails trail up his legs, leaving little white lines on his toned thighs. My hands lightly ghosted over his undergarments, feeling the heat of his hard erection through the thin material and as they did so and I heard a slightly disgruntled ' _Regina_ ' come from his lips.

"Yes?" I asked innocently, hearing him grunt again.

"We don't have long so stop being a tease," he responded plainly, turning his head to face me as he opened his eyes, "If you're going do it, do it. If not, then stop keeping me waiting."

If I had been the me of three weeks ago, I would have stopped right there, stood up, grabbed my coat and left. But I wasn't that same girl anymore.

No, now I was bolder, more adventurous, more frisky, and dare I say, naughty? And as for the time constraint, he was completely to blame!

I stared at him for a minute, waiting for Robin to turn his head towards me again. When he did I gave him a predatory look followed by the raise of my eyebrow before lowering my head.

I could see his mouth beginning to open again, but I stopped him from speaking, running my hands quickly up his sides and grabbing them hem of his boxers. With a tug I was able to pull them down and relinquish him of his last remaining article of clothing.

I realized in that moment that this was the first time in all of ours times together that he was completely undressed before I was. I would have laughed at the irony of the situation however, at that moment, I had more  _pressing_  things laying  _right_  before me. Or should I say  _standing_  before me?

Robin began to release a quite moan the second the boxers were off and his erection was released but that stopped, turning into a full blown gut wrenching groan as my hands wrapped around him and pumped him hard, once.

His head, which had been propped up on his shoulder as he looked down at me dropped back, hitting the pillows behind him hard and bouncing once as my hands stay wrapped around him.

"Regina," he said again, this time a bit more unintelligibly.

"Mmm?" I hummed.

He grunted.

I pumped him again, enjoying the effect I was having on him. Running my hands up from the base of his shaft and up to the crown, just missing the tip of him on purpose. I dropped my hands back down and started all over again from the beginning.

I repeated the action one time, two times, three times, before I paused again, releasing my hold on him.

"What was it that you were going to say?" I asked in the most domineering tone that I could muster.

The man below me almost groaned again, but this time it was out of need instead than want.

" _Please_ ," he whispered, breathily.

"What was that?"

"Dammit, Regina!  _Please_! I  _need_  you."

A wry smile cracked on my face at the sound of Robin being reduced to begging and I returned my hands to him.

"Well," I said, pumping him once again, "because you asked so nicely."

Robin's eyes snapped open and watched me wide eyed as I leaned down. His gaze only lasted for a second however, because the moment my warm breath hit his member his eyes began to roll backwards into his head and I let my tongue flick over him teasingly. He clenched the bed sheets in his hands and I licked my lips, taking a moment before going back and taking him fully into my mouth.

Robin bucked.

xxx

It was somewhere around 6 am on Thursday morning, the birds were twittering, the world was waking and I could smell the scent of freshly cooking bacon wafting up from downstairs.

_Wait_.  _Bacon_?

That definitely was not normal Thursday morning procedure in the Mills house!

I shot up in bed, nearly hitting my head on the large overhanging head board behind me. Tossing the extremely thin covers off of me, I shivered as the cold air hit my skin and I looked down.

I was completely in the nude and that was  _definitely_  not normal!

Taking a moment to breathe in and out before I let out a shriek of panic, I looked around, trying to get my bearings.

Okay. There were pictures of places that I hadn't been and people that I didn't recognize on the walls of the small room which was painted grey which only resulted in making the space look even smaller. There was one extremely large leather chair in the corner with an old guitar that looked like it hadn't been played in a while sitting leisurely upon the seat. There was a large desk in the corner, which took up the remainder of the space in the room, covered in hundreds of stacks of papers and pens. I looked over to the other side of the bed to find to my horror, my skirt, my bra, and my blouse strewn out on the plush sheepskin looking floor and, most horrifyingly of all, my thong which was hanging on the handle of the door, somehow flipped inside out, across the room from me. A door handle which was now beginning to turn as I stared at it.

Gasping I instantly I shot backwards, dropping my head back down onto the bed. However, in my haste to pretend that I was still out cold, I ended up hitting my head on said headboard behind me and let out a yelp of pain!

"Ouch! Dammit." I cried, reaching my hand up to rub a circle on the back of my head where my skull had just collided painfully with the carved wood.

"Are you okay?" Came a voice and I froze.

If I had thought that I had accidentally missed the memo and had woken up on the set of a cheesy, smutty "What Happens in Vegas" type of movie I was wrong. I had fallen asleep and was magically transported to the set of The Twilight Zone, Season 3 episode 1, and I was the lonely women!

Afraid that when I turned I might see the old war time looking man that didn't speak English staring back at me, gun in his hand, I did the only sensible thing I could think of.

I hid.

Under the covers. Like a little child.  _Literally_.

Oh my God I think my cheeks could light on fire from how much they were burning right now.

"Regina?" came the voice again, much closer to me and I gasped.  _This person knew my name?_

Suddenly I felt the covers slipping away from me as if someone were trying to pull them off of my body and I realized that someone was indeed trying to pull them off my body!

"Stop!" I yelled, throwing my arm out in a whacking motion, trying to take out the stranger that was trying to get me vulnerable and naked with one blind hit.

The person in question stopped, stepping back as the creak in the floor informed me and I rolled over, whipping my head out from underneath the sheets, instantly wishing that I hadn't moved so fast.

"What the hell do you want?" I yelled into thin air, feeling my head beginning to throb. Almost instantly I realized that in the midst of my attempts to roll over, I had forgotten that I was stark naked underneath the thin sheets, and now my breasts were completely exposed to this stranger! I immediately began simultaneously trying to wrap the blankets around myself, whilst tucking them under my armpits to keep whatever remained of my modesty in tact, and I blinked, trying to get my vision to return to me.

Everything was underwater. Or I was dreaming, because the whole world seemed to be bobbing up and down currently, and I was pretty sure that TV screens didn't float?

"I brought you some food and water to help with that nasty hangover you now doubt have." The voice said again.

I could feel my stomach beginning to turn at the mention of a hangover and my eyes shut as my memories started to come back to me.

I could faintly remember something about a 'parent-teacher' night, and my best gal pal Tink dragging me along, seeking out Henry's so-called new  _prick_  of an English teacher so that I could give him a piece of my mind and finally stop unloading onto her all of my frustrations with him. Suddenly there were flashes of one very attractive British man with piercingly blue eyes and I could remember little snippets of heated conversation, before the images in my mind turned into something different and the brightly-fluorescently lit schoolhouse morphed into some dimly lit place that looked somewhat familiar.

_Granny's_!

I shook my head as images of the late night diner slowly came into focus.

It had been late, and only the regulars and late night crowd people had been in the joint, as it was a Wednesday night, and that meant you had either came to drink, or were already drunk.

I was lifting up another drink in my hands, raising it in mock salute, before I tipped my head back and downed the shot in one gulp, setting it back down on the table with a satisfied grin as it clinked upon the glass.

"So," I heard the man with a deep accent sitting next to me say, "I suppose I can see where you are coming from, however it's not my way to make special exceptions for certain kids, no matter how attractive nor convincing their mothers may be. I have a code, I have my honor, and I choose to live by it, no matter how much other people may not like it."

"Well forgive me for saying it, but I don't really care much for your 'code' right now. Hang it, hang your stupid rules and come step into the real world, a world where people don't live by there  _honors_  or their  _values_ , they just live to survive and not get eaten alive." I said, feeling the liquid that I had just ingested beginning to work it's magic on loosening my body and, apparently, my tongue.

"Well, forgive me for not having such a bleak out look on life M'lady." The man retorted, "I was raised in such a way that, though at times I may have seen the worst in people, I also saw the best, and I learned quickly that being held to a standard that demanded nothing but excellence was the only way to weed out the champions from the followers.

There is nothing wrong with your son receiving a low grade Regina. He's a smart boy, in fact he's one of the brightest in my class. But that doesn't mean that I'm going to give him any special treatment, no matter if he struggles with writing or if his mother comes at me with her title and threatens me with losing my job. He has such a wonderful brain and vast imagination, and with a push, he will be able to accomplish great things. I wouldn't want to take that away from either him nor you. As a matter of fact, there is only one thing I would like to do for you."

Feeling the drink working it's way through me I rolled my eyes, biting at the bait he had no doubt just cast out for me. "And what is that?"

"I can see that your stressed, and by the way you're downing those drinks I can tell that you're going to have one hell of a hangover tomorrow morning." He began, shifting closer to me in his seat, "It would be my honor if you would allow me to accompany you home tonight. I would feel awful if I let you slip out those doors and didn't make sure you got back to your house safely and got a good night's sleep."

At that I snorted, letting my fingers trail over the edge of the counter as I tossed my head back at the mock sentiment.

"There's no way I'm going to be getting any sleep tonight," I said, shaking my head to confirm it.

The blue eye'd man squinted, "Why not?"

"To stressed. To wound up first by this grade you're giving my son and second by all of the pressures of being a single parent, and working the long hours of my job but also raising my son and never being sure if I'm doing right by either one."

There was a pause and I wasn't particularly sure why I had chosen to share that bit of information with an almost a virtual stranger to me, sitting in a bar - _which he had dragged me to after I continued berating him long after the 'parent' part of the 'parent-teacher' conference had finished_  - but I had, and there was no getting the words back now. So I sat there, a stoic look on my face, trying hard not to let my freaking out on the inside show how nervous I felt on the outside, waiting for his response.

It was about a good minute later before he responded again.

"Regina," he said, his tone completely different then it had been before. There was something darker, thicker, like a rich dessert and my mind instantly snapped to chocolate and I found myself wishing we had chosen to go to a chocolate factory and not a bar to continue this less than riveting conversation.

"Yes?" I answered, waiting for him to finish.

The man in question shifted again next to me, causing his leg to bump into my own and I tilted my head, studying him out of the corner of my eye. He was nervous. Judging from the way he had gripped his drink tightly, which was only half touched, and the way he was currently gnawing on his bottom lip, which I took to be a nervous habit of his, he was mulling over something that he badly wanted to say to me and yet wasn't quite sure how to get it out.

_Odd?_ I thought to myself, now staring incredulously at the incredibly outspoken man sitting completely silently. It wasn't like him to not have the words to say and I so badly wanted to ask him if the 'cat got his tongue' but judging by the way his eyes were flickering back and forth I decided that now might not be the best time so I decided to go with a more direct approach.

"Whatever it is, just say it," I stated, nudging him with my knee. "It's not like you could offend me any worse than I have you tonight."

At that the man smiled, although just a small one, but I felt a small bubble of pride well up in my chest knowing that I was the one that had put it there. If that feeling of pride however was mixed with something else more arousing, well, that wasn't completely my fault; it's not everyday one get's to sit by an extremely hot man and get his full attention dedicated to yourself for three hours straight, so I would take the feeling where I could get it.

Robin let his hands drop and he set down the glass in his fingers.

His eyes trailed over to my seat, coming up and making their way up my body slowly. When they reached my face however I felt my heart pound hard as my breath hitched in my throat and I stared into his eyes.

They were black.  _Well_ , as black as blue could be.

They weren't literally black but they had an extremely atramentous tinge to them, making them dark, steely and so utterly addictive that I couldn't look away.

He took another deep breath and his tongue came out to wet his lips and I had to physically remind myself to stay seated in my own chair while he spoke for my body had decided that it wanted to jump him as badly as it wanted to breathe, and I was having a really hard time convincing myself as to why I wasn't over on his seat right now, sitting on top of him and making his mouth mine.

"Regina," he said again, this time a bit more huskier then before, but still as rich and wetness inducing as the first time, "I could help you with that if you wanted."

"Help me with what?" I asked, not sure what it was that I had asked for help for.

"The stress thing."

"Oh?" I said, nodding my head once in understanding, "And how would you do that?"

Robin leaned closer, as if he was getting ready to unveil the worlds biggest secret to me and I couldn't help but lean in a fraction of an inch, if anything to get another whiff of whatever aftershave he wore which had hints of pine needles and musk and it made my head fuzzy in a good way.

"I'm quite good at de-stressing women."

"Oh? Teacher salary not cutting it? Did you picking up being a masseuse on the side?" I joked.

"No," the man said seriously, but a small smirk did curl up on the corner of his face. "Nothing like that."

"Well then do tell me Mr. Locksley, how exactly do you 'de-stress' women?"

He stared straight at me, black eyes glimmering as he spoke, "It involves eating out but I'm not talking about taking you to any restaurant M'lady."

I sat back, completely confused, staring at the man in front of me with a puzzled expression. The moments seemed to tick by and his gaze on me didn't falter, it only seemed to intensify as his eyes stayed deep blue, locked with mine as I thought about his words.

_Eating out but not at a restaurant?_  I wondered, pondering the meaning, until all of a sudden-  _it just hit me._

"Oh!" I gasped, my eyes flying open, lips no doubt forming a small circle as I put two and two together.

My eyes flicked up, meeting his, and only then did I see the little flicker of something even darker in those icy blue irises. Like a flame, flickering behind the glass, just waiting to be exposed to the air.

Robin sat there, in all of his glory, and I took a moment to look him over to see if I was just going crazy. Judging by the almost amused look on his face and the devilish gleam that he had in his eye, I could tell I had guessed right.

"You didn't seriously just ask me that right now, did you?" I asked.

"It depends," he shrugged.

"Depends on what?"

Robin's eyes found mine and burned holes into them, "Depends on whether or not you want me to."

I sat back in shock, clearly unprepared for the new man that I was meeting. Robin was attractive yes, there was no doubt about that, and his accent did things to me that I lady probably shouldn't admit to, but to ask a woman straight out if you wanted him to eat you out was pushing it even for his level of sexual appeal!

But then again, who was I to say 'no'?

Wasn't this what we all prayed for?

For God to send us a man that wasn't afraid to ask for what he wants? That looks good and smells good and has a good job and a libido to match?

Staring at the man next to me for a moment longer my shock began to fade away slowly and -  _blame it on the shots of alcohol that were already in side me_ \- I leaned forward, closing the distance between us.

Instantly I was surrounded by the smell of the forest after it rains, a deep earthy scent and I felt my insides do a flip as this tingling sensation ran straight from the base of my neck and down into my toes as I felt his light 5 o'clock shadow brush erotically against my cheek.

My eyes were still open as I stared at him, looking for any sign of a joke or hesitation. Finding none, I continued to move forward and close the gap until there wasn't any room to move anymore. And then I kissed him.

_Hard_.

I let my lips trail over his, and there was a moment where he didn't seem to be responding, but that only seemed to last for a second, because a breath later his hands were on me, running through my hair, and wrapping around my waist as my fingers were pulling at his shirt and I was lost. Breathless, feeling his stubble mixed with the softness of his lips assaulting me and my heightening senses all at once.

One of his hands, the one that was on my hip slipped and moved down to cup my ass and I had to pull away as I remembered where we were.

I rested my head on his, panting heavily and whispered into his ear.

"Let's go."

xxx

My head was still throbbing as I got up, now seated up right in the small bed, my back against the carved headboard, a glass of water in my hands.

"I cannot believe I had that much to drink last night." I said to no one in particular, rubbing my forehead with my palm.

"Trust me, neither could Granny."

'Eugenia was there?!" I shrieked, completely horrified at the thought that the one night the elder woman actually decided to show up at her diner -  _and serve behind the counter no less_! - was the one in which I had seemed to make an absolute fool of myself. And, to put the metaphorical icing on to top of this very shitty cake, with my sons new middle school English teacher no less!

_That was a lot of 'no-lesses' in one string of thought._ I mused to myself.  _Dear God I'm so hung over_.

"Oh yes," The man next to me said, breaking my concentration, "who do you think it was that served you all those drinks?"

I groaned. If I could manage to think straight for longer than a second before my train of through derailed itself, I would make a mental note to have a stern talking with Eugenia on the ways in which she ran her ' _fine since '89_ ' establishment. But I wasn't even managing the sitting up thing well enough at the moment to process any more information. Currently, I could feel my body slipping further and further out of my control as my side drew closer and closer to the bed.

My elbow hit the mattress first, followed by my triceps and then shoulder. But, before the side of my head could hit the pillow tops and complete this epicly-drunken face plant, I felt a hand wrap around my other arm, and I was pulled up.

Even though I was now properly vertical again, my head parallel with the bed, I could feel my brain beginning to spin at the sudden righting of my body and my stomach followed.

Instantly I flung my legs over the side of the small bed, not really caring to register the difference in texture of the furry floor bellow me as opposed to the wooden tiles of my bedroom, and whipped out in the direction of where I thought a bathroom should be.

Apparently, after nearly running straight into a wall, Robin redirected me, sending me straight on the pathway to the lavatory.

Nearly taking myself out against the door, I made it, with no bumps nor bruises to show...  _so far._

I'm not exactly sure what all I had to drink last night but I can confidently say that the entire continence of what was in my stomach was now in the toilet bowl, floating around. I flushed it.

Turning towards the sink I washed out my mouth, ridding myself of the after taste of whiskey mixed with vomit.

My stomach however beginning to stir again, and I gripped myself, as if holding on with a death grip around my mid section would somehow keep me together and keep the vomit down.

"Shit," I whispered to myself when I realized that that wasn't going to happen and I rushed to the white bowl again.

About five minutes later there came a knock at the door and I turned my head slowly before snapping back and groaning in misery.

"Regina? You still alive? Is everything alright in there?"

_Fine_. I thought to myself.  _Just dandy. I'm just hurling up what could be the equivalent of all the food at my quinceria, into one tiny little bowl, with no sign of it ever stopping. But all's good! Don't worry. There is no cause for alarm here!_

"Regina?" The man said again, this time a bit louder.

There was the sound of the door handle twisting and I yelled back.

"I'm alive!" I said, wishing though that he were dead for making me speak at all in this predicament. My stomach gurgled.

"Alright," his voice said and the door handle stopped moving. "I'll just be out here."

_Alrighty_ , I nodded, realizing to late that the door was closed, therefore he could not see my nonverbal answer.

Not wanting to take the time to spend the effort to respond again however, I just turned back, dropping my head on the toilet bowl, groaning.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! do leave a comment with any thoughts, praise or constructive criticism! mwah!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I believe this is the first chapter of this fic that doesn't have blatant smut in it... just implied(; enjoy!

**3**

"Bacon?" I mumbled, unintelligibly.

My stomach was still turning but the nausea that went with it had dissipated a while back, leaving me just with the faint feeling of being sea sick. Slowly I adjusted the terry cloth robe that was around me, trying to get it to stop itching. It was one I had grabbed whilst in the bathroom. I realized only to late that I hadn't brought a proper change of clothing to this impromptu to sleep over and I was in no mood to be slipping on my skirt and heels right now. The robe itched again and I tugged at it once more.

"Ah, you're alive." Came the heavily accented voice, barging through my rocking sea of consciousness like a charter boat. "For a moment there I was worried that you might have fallen into the toilet and let it swallow you whole."

"Eloquent." I said.

The man smiled and I noticed that he had changed. No longer was he wearing the white wife beater tee shirt and sweats. Now he was dressed up, a crisp blue button down shirt tucked in to dark grey dress pants. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled and I noticed that he had a tattoo of a lion on his hind legs on his right arm, right at the inside of his wrist. His smile widened, one corner of his lips raising up a little bit higher then the other as he spotted me staring, giving him a sort of off-kilter and rugged, English professor kind of look.

I stepped further into the kitchen, swaying once when my feet hit the cold tiled floor.

"Why don't you sit down M'lady." Rugged man said, dropping the fork in his hands and moving a bit further away from the counter where he was standing, inching closer to me.

"I'm fine." I protested with a wave of my hand, but as fate would have it the small movement set off a domino effect and pretty soon I found myself swaying again, dangerously this time.  _Wait, did someone yell timber?_

"Regina, sit down before you fall down."

My eyes snapped open.  _Again with the name._

It occurred to me at that moment that I still didn't know his.  _Well,_   _I did_. I knew his last name at least. It was Locksley. Henry's new, hot-shot English teacher. The man who had given my son an extremely bad grade on his summer homework a few days ago. The man who I had gone to a stupid parent-teacher conference for last night to talk to. The man who I ended up yelling at at said stupid parent-teacher conference and somehow walked out with. The man who I proceeded to get wasted in front off at Granny's bar. The man who had asked me a lot of personal questions and then offered to help me 'relieve my stress' when I had gotten just drunk enough so that I couldn't think properly. The man in which I had agreed to let help in 'relieving' said stress and whose name I had ended up yelling countless times last night as he did a fine ass job of 'relieving' me. The same man who was currently looking at me right now like he wouldn't mind 'relieving' me again.

_Oh fuck, Robin!_

My mouth dropped open, jaw almost hitting the counter as I sat down in the chair that he had just pulled out for me at the edge of the small table.

Flashes of ripping clothes, buttons popping, taut muscles and skin against sweat-slicked skin invaded my mind as I felt my brain beginning to spin again and my stomach did a somersault.

"Regina? Are you alright?"

Quickly I opened my eyes, however the sunlight flooded in making me groan and I lifted my hands up, pressing my palms hard into the aching sockets.

"What the hell did I do last night?" I mumbled to no one in particular.

He answered anyway.

"You m'lady? Not much."

My eyes shot open again, hands dropping down as I felt my jaw fell open.

"But that was kind of the whole point," the man continued cheekily, said smirk still on his annoyingly attractive face. "You were quite loud however."

"Oh my God."

"Yeah, he was there too."

My eyebrows shot up, quickly furrowing into confusion.

"Well considering how many times you yelled his name, for a second there I thought you had forgotten mine and thought you were getting fucked by the Almighty one."

If I had thought my mouth was drooping open before it was nothing compared to how far it was hanging now.

"Did you really just say that?"

The man before me nodded with a smirk. "Aye."

I could feel a pounding head ache coming on and I closed my eyes, pressing my palms once again into my sockets.  _This was madness._  Not only had I gone home with my sons middle school English teacher - to his apartment I might add - and let him have his way with me, but apparently I had let my more than verbal side show, which was not something I did until about the 3rd or 4th time together. That's what I get for not having sex with another human being for over a year!  _Great_.

"Hungry?" Robin said, turning back round and reclaiming the fork that he had dropped. "I thought it best to remove the food from the bed room considering that you appeared to be to busy emptying the entire contents of your stomach anyway and I didn't want to make you sicker, but now, if you're feeling up to it, I can always reheat breakfast."

"No, that's fine. I'm fine," I said, shaking my head to prove my point. "I just need to get home."

"Ah, well I believe you do live rather close." Robin replied.

"How do you know where I live?"

"I believe you told me somewhere around 3 am this morning." He stated, grabbing a mug, which I assumed was filled with coffee, off of the counter and making his way over to the table. Sitting down he took a sip before passing another identical steaming mug over to me. "Right in the midst of you screaming out my name."

"Oh my God, I did not!" I said.

I could feel my face lighting up in embarrassment, my mind quickly trying to process what that would have been like and just how drunk I would have had to have been in order for me to completely lose all sense of myself and start blurting out random facts about me mid-coitus.

_Thrust_... my name...  _thrust_... my phone number...  _thrust_... my home address...  _thrust_... my social security!

Actually, now that I think about it, I can only remember flashes of the night before, but I don't think there was any thrusting involved...  _just a whole lot of tongue_...

My eyes peeled open, hazy brown finding steel blue. Robin was staring at me, his eyes seriously analyzing my reaction from over the top of his mug. It was only for a moment however for a second later the lines around his eyes began to crinkle and he tilted his head back as he laughed into his cup.

"What?" I asked him. "What's so funny, why are you laughing?"

"You should've see your face!"

"My face?" I said, completely confused.

"Aye! You're eyes just got so big." Robin said, making a growing motion with his hands before bursting into another bought of deep, rumbling laughter.

"Wait, so I didn't tell you my home address mid climax?"

"No," he said, shaking his head as a few tears of laughter escaped from his eyes. "No, your license told me that."

"Oh okay my license, that makes sense. Wait.  _What?! My license?_ "

The man across the table however didn't seem to care enough to answer, he just continued to snicker away, occasionally taking a sip of his coffee before chuckling again.

"You looked at my license?" I asked again, my voice shooting up in concern.

"Oh aye," he said, sipping once again from his mug. "While you were in the loo, had to make sure I hadn't invited some crazy person into my home."

"The same crazy person who you went out with last night and agreed to take home and make love too."

"Not make love M'lady, have sex with." He said.

"Same thing?" I countered.

"No, not really. Sex is a physical act whereas love is all about emotion. It's sticky and tangly and comes with a whole mess of feelings and what not. Sex is all about mutual absolution. The freeing of ones pent up emotions. A way to unwind and relax. One person helping another to achieve a release."

"And what makes you want to help me?" I asked.

The blonde man shrugged, "Call me a gentlemen."

I scoffed.

Robin smirked again, taking another drink of his coffee. I took a moment to look around the kitchen, realizing that it wasn't much of a kitchen at all, but a human sized cupboard, big enough to fit a oven, a microwave, a small fridge, one table and two people, but not much else.  _There wasn't even room for a dishwasher,_  I noticed. My eyes continued to flit around the room until I spotted the clock on top of the microwave. 7 _:36 am._

_Shit!_  I thought,  _I needed to get back._

Standing up quickly I swayed a bit. Placing my hand on the table I tried to regain some semblance of control but before I could take another step I heard the man across from me speaking.

"At least have something to eat before you leave."

I turned, eyeing the incredulous man who was currently still sitting at the other end of the table, however where there had been a smirk before on his lips sat a frown. His eye brows were crinkled and his face contorted into a look that almost could be confused with concern.

There was something about his eyes, the way in which their deep grayish blue seemed to glow as they looked at me, no doubt analyzing my current state of undress and unruly bed head with an air of pity. But there was also something underneath that. Something that ran deeper than just being chivalrous - not that this man was the epitome of chivalry, reheating breakfast and making lewd jokes and such - but it was a start. When he didn't look away from me however I sighed.

"Fine," I replied with a huff, reluctantly sitting back down, reclaiming my pushed out seat. "What have you got?" I asked.

My head spun slightly but I forced myself to look up again. When I did however I felt a cold shiver run down my spine as my eyes caught those of the man across from me. There was no look of concern on his face now. Where there had been a frown a moment ago, there was a sly smile, dark intentions written clearly on wry lips.

I felt my heart jump into my chest as Robin turned, tilting his chair backwards slightly, reaching for something on the counter behind him. When he grabbed whatever it was he turned back, sly smile still on his face.

He reached his had out.

"Apple?" he said.

My heart stopped.

xxx

_Before_

"So what's the skinny on this new English teacher of yours?" I asked my son as he plodded his way down the stairs, sounding like a heard of angry elephants.  _Apparently I had been hanging around Emma to much as her immature verbiage seemed to be rubbing off on me._

"Mr. Locksley?" He asked.

"Mmhmm."

"He's cool," Henry replied. I felt my brows furrow.

"Cool?" I said, turning back round to the oven where I had my skillet, and was currently cooking pancakes on. "What do you mean?" I asked as I slid my spatula underneath, flipping one perfectly goldeny-brown side up.

"I dunno," Henry mumbled unintelligibly.

I turned my head just slightly over my shoulder catching my son sneakily trying to remove the cellophane wrapping and take a bite of one of the muffins on the table top.

"Henry Daniel Mills!" I stated.

_That did it._

Quickly the muffin fell from his hands, little crumbs and poppy seeds falling and scattering in it's wake.

"Those aren't for you," I said, pointing at the plate of baked goods on the counter. "They're for your English teacher."

"Mr. Locksely?" he questioned, as if we hadn't just established that that was his name moments ago.

"Yes," I said, taking the spatula and sliding it quickly under the perfectly cooked and airy pancake, before placing it on a plate and handing it to my son. "I want you to take them with you to school today and give them to him in class."

"Aren't apples what you're supposed to give school teachers?" He asked, taking said pancake and dousing it with powdered sugar before reaching for the syrup.

"Well I would," I said, scraping up my pancake from the skillet, "But apples just feel so impersonal. I'd rather bake something."

"You could bake an apple pie?" He offered mid bite.

"I don't think so." I said, squinting.

It was a long standing knowledge that I was no fan of apples, especially not apple pie. It had happened many Thanksgivings ago when Mary Maragret and David had hosted dinner at their house and had invited me over. She had given me a slice of her world famous apple pie to try and I nearly ended up in the hospital after my throat closed up upon taking the first bite.

Since then I had avoided apples like the plague.

"How bout this, bring these muffin's to your teacher, and you can add in a note that says 'my mom would have given you a bowl of apples, but she decided against it since she's deathly allergic to the things.' Hmm? Sound good." I said.

"Good," Henry responded through a mouthful of syrupy pancake before adding, "Is this a bribe?"

"What!?" I asked, taken aback, "No! What makes you say that?"

I may have answered a little too quickly and he gave me a look that reminded a little bit too much of my mother when she would scold me as a child for lying to her and I gulped slightly, watching as his small eyebrow even raised up just like Cora's used to.

"You don't like to bake mom." He said with an air of smug satisfaction.

"What are you talking about? I love to bake."

"Yeah, but not for others."

_Dammit_ , I cursed under my breath, instantly regretting signing Henry up for preschool at such a young age. He had developed such an uncanny ability to read and analyze other people, however I assumed that that last part was just him. He really was a special boy. A special boy with a gift for seeing through people and their white lies.  _Damn him._

"Well," I said, looking down and brushing off a speck of invisible dirt from my apron. "It  _may_  be a gift for a certian teacher of yours, but that doesn't make it a bribe."

"Mom, give it up." He said and I snapped my head up so fast, I was afraid I might snap it in half due to the force.

My son sat there at the counter, a cocky look plastered all over his too young face. Apparently over the years I must have become soft for I never would have been able to get away with saying that in my childhood home. My mother never would have stood for me speaking back to her, even if I had caught her at the scene of a crime with the murder weapon in her hand.

"I can tell when you're lying," Henry continued, distracting me from my thoughts. "I've been shadowing Emma at the police station for the last week and she taught me the top ways to tell when someone's lying and you just showed 4 out of the 5 signs."

I eyed him, not sure if I should be more impressed or horrified that my son had now become a human lie detector amongst other things.

"So, this is a bribe," he stated factually, before adding, "for what?"

Henry was smiling, his sopping pancakes now pushed to the side, completely forgotten and I exhaled louder through my nose, crossing my arms and rolling my eyes in defeat as I answered him.

"For that dumb English teacher of yours and that even dumber grade he gave you."

Henry rolled his eyes. "Seriously mom?"

"Yes seriously, and don't you roll your eye's at me! I've had enough sass out of you for one day thank you very much."

Okay so maybe trying to bribe my son's English teacher with food wasn't the best idea. _I was just going to have to think of something better to do_ , I thought to myself,  _or maybe I could actually go and talk with the man?_ I shook my head, shuddering at the thought.  _No, no there had to be some other way_. There was a buzz and I glanced down, spotting my phone which had lit up on the counter, signalling a new message from T. Bell.  _Tink!_ I thought to myself _, Perfect! She'd know what to do!_

A smile was forming on my face as I picked up the phone to text her back but the sound of Henry's voice cut me off.

"I was just going to say that 'dumber' isn't a word." Henry muttered quietly under his breath but I heard him well enough.

"What was that?" I asked watching in amusement as my sons eye's popped open comically like one of his favorite cartoon's. He instantly ducked his head down as a blush spread over his plump cheeks.

"Nothing!"

"Good," I smirked, glad to see that I could still shock him with my ability to hear him. One day he would realize that his whispers weren't as silent as he thought, but until that day I would let him believe that super hearing was one of the many superpowers a woman received when becoming a mom. Shrugging off my apron I put on my jacket and continued. "Now finish you pancakes. The bus will be here in three minutes and you're not going to be late again and miss it and end up skipping the whole day of school this time." I said.

"That was only once!" Henry wailed.

"One time to many." I responded before grabbing my favorite red lipstick from my purse, swiping it across my lips and putting it back in the bag.

Henry took another large bite, finishing up his pancakes in one swallow before turning back to me, "Why am I taking the bus?"

"Because I've got meetings early this morning, and therefore can't take you in today."

Henry rolled his eyes, letting out another pitiful whine, " _Ughh_ , do I have too?"

"Yes you have to." I said, turning to him, "Now hurry up, and go get your back pack." I pushed him down from his seat, directing him towards the hallway closet where his school supplies sat. "Don't forget your scarf!"

"Got it mom." Henry responded, reaching the closet and wrapping the grey and red stripped scarf around his neck twice, just like he did each and every morning.

Grabbing the large Spiderman backpack he swung it over his shoulder, making his way towards the door.

"Have a good day!" I yelled, watching as the front door was flung open and the view of the frost covered streets became visible.

"I love you!" I yelled again, watching as my son made his way outside, the door shutting behind him.

Sighing, I turned, grabbing my laptop from the counter but the sound of the front door creaking open again made me look back.

There at the front door was Henry, his little head poking in through the crack.

"Love you too mom!"

xxx

_Back In Robin's Apartment_

My mouth was open, jaw dropped. I probably looked like I was trying to catch flies in between my teeth.

"Or you know you can always have a muffin." Robin said, turning once again and grabbing one from the familiar plate on the counter.  _How had I not noticed that before?_  The same devilish smirk was still plastered on his face as he let out a little chuckle, eyeing the treat before offering it to me, "I do believe these are poppy seed."

"That wasn't supposed to get to you," I whispered, my mouth dry, voice cracking.

I had to gulp down hard to get rid of the dryness that was threatening to take over my throat, however it did nothing for the nerves that were now flowing through me as I eyed the small pastry item in front of me.

"No?" Robin said, the concerned look once again marring his attractive visage. His brows furrowed as he spoke, "So you didn't mean for these baked goods to be delivered to me by your son yesterday in class?"

"No," I said, before rephrasing, "Well, yes I did actually. But I didn't... I mean." I huffed.  _Apparently this was going to be one of those annoying days where my tongue decided to become dyslexic and I couldn't speak straight._ "Yes those were meant for you," I said finally, gesturing towards the offending item with my hands, "But they were never meant to get to you."

The blonde man crinkled his eyebrows, but the look of his face morphed from one of confusion to one of intrigue. "Oh?" He said after a moment, shifting in his seat, "So you ended up changing your mind about bribing me with edible arrangements amongst  _other_  things, did you?"

I nodded. "But apparently that plan failed," I mumbled, turning my head as quickly as possible to the side in order to hide the lovely shade of tomato red that I had turned in the last couple of minutes.

"Oh I wouldn't say it failed," Robin countered.

I looked up, my brown eyes finding his blue ones which were currently sparkling as he removed the wrapping paper around the muffin and bit down, small crumbs falling all over the place.

"It didn't?" I asked optimistically, feeling a blossom of hope blooming in my chest.  _Maybe, just maybe, there was a glimmer of hope in here for Henry and his GPA!_

"I'm not changing your sons grade," Robin said almost immediately, more crumbs falling down and strangely enough I had to remind myself not to reach forward in an attempt to brush them off of his chin.

I sighed, rolling my eyes until they circled so far backwards that I grew concerned about them ever being able to find there way forwards again.

"Then what do you mean I didn't fail," I sighed exasperatedly.

"Well you made it here. You got your point across that you're a very concerned mother. And now," he said, with a smirk as his eyes met mine, "I'm eating your muffin... no pun intended."

The redness of my face undoubtedly darkened at the  _very much_  implied euphemism, however I had more important things on my mind then discussing just how many times he did end up eating my muffin last night... I shook my head once, speaking, "If you give Henry a hard time because of this-"

"I would never M'lady. You forget about my code. I don't work that way," he said, the smirk on his face gone, replaced by a serious expression.

For once I was actually sort of happy about said code, though I may have thought it to be completely moronic last night, right now, it seemed to be doing me some good.

"Good," I said, grabbing the half eaten muffin from his hands, taking a healthy bite.  _Delicious_. "Now, I need to get home."

Robin nodded.

"Aye, I would take you but I'm afraid all I have is my motorcycle."

"No, no," I said, shaking my head, "If my calculations are correct then I live only a block from here and I'd rather not be seen leaving with you so... wait  _what_?  _Your_  motorcycle?"

Robin nodded again, eyeing me curiously this time, a hint of amusement tucked away in the corner of his smile. "Yes, my motorcycle. Harley fan are we?"

"No, I mean, yes. It's just," I paused.  _Damn my brain for it's inability to think straight through this hangover._  "I just didn't connect that it was yours," I said finally, raising my hands up to my temples, trying to alleviate some pain.

Robin turned, his eyes searching for something. Once found, he turned back, staring at me.

"Feel free to stay here as long as you'd like Regina. Help yourself to anything. Sadly, I need to leave, but you are more than welcome to stay here, take a shower and get some more rest of you need."

I heard the sound of a small object being placed on the table as he spoke and and I cracked an eye open to see that it was Ibuprofen.

Grabbing the bottle and the glass of water that he was holding out for me I responded, "No, I have to get back. I have to take my son to school."

"Ah," came the voice of the man in front of me, "Well then, you'd better leave now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! do leave a comment, they fuel me like no other! and if you have any prompts or ideas or things you'd like to see in upcoming chapters please leave them in the comments!


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